Results of three recent GaAs flight experiments: Ascot, PASP-Plus, and STRV-1b

Abstract

Gallium arsenide on germanium (GaAs/Ge) solar cells are being used on an increasing fraction of space missions because of their increased efficiency over silicon solar cells. Three recent flight experiments in orbits that rapidly accumulate radiation exposure have included GaAs-containing cells of various designs. The data from these experiments presented in this paper verify the radiation degradation models for these solar cells and give confidence in their projected performance in proton-dominated orbits.